Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of spatial boundaries to provide a political advantage to a particular group. Gerrymandering links the political and the geographic in a very specific and material manner. American in origin, the term was first used to describe the 1812 creation of districts in Massachusetts that were designed to ensure a Republican majority over Federalists in the state legislature. Following Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval of the bill that created the districts, a contemporary cartoonist observed that the shape of the districts resembled a salamander. Responding to this comment, Boston Gazette editor Benjamin Russell, a Federalist, noted derisively that the district map should be called a “gerrymander.” The term gerrymandering has since been used to describe the intentional distortion of electorate boundaries for political gain.

In territorially based representative democracies, gerrymandering is a powerful instrument expressed in multiple ways. A simple form of gerrymandering is the failing to redistrict as the population changes. Another type, opponent concentration or excess vote gerrymandering, occurs when boundaries are drawn so that one group is concentrated in the fewest number of districts so that this group may win there while its influence in other districts is restricted or negated. The complement to this, opponent dispersion or wasted vote gerrymandering, occurs when boundaries are drawn to split up or disperse a concentration of voters into several districts with the intention of preventing them from electing a candidate. An additional method, stacked gerrymandering, is intended to delineate boundaries in a meandering manner that encloses pockets of strength while avoiding areas of weakness.

Geographers and other researchers have investigated many issues involving gerrymandering. Geographers have noted that the nature of territorially based representation is such that the location of district boundaries can have a significant impact on election outcomes and, by extension, can also shape government policy and people's lives. Who these outcomes affect and how they affect them, both positively and negatively, is a point of departure for much research. Research has also focused on legal issues, including court-ordered redistricting that is informed and aided by geographic criteria, computer models, and the role of race and ethnicity in determining district boundaries. Finally, researchers have interrogated how gerrymandering infringes on the democratic process and why it is extremely difficult to eliminate from the political arena.

The simultaneous empowerment of one group and disempowerment of another group is inherent to gerrymandering and is a compelling aspect of this mechanism. The power and extent of gerrymandering cannot be understated. Indeed, nearly all voters, regardless of race, political affiliation, or location, have been affected by gerrymandering.